No:95 MAY/JUNE'07 - S&M Publication ltd

Akdamar Church monumental museumthat is restored by Turkish Culture & TourismMinistry was inaugurated with aceremony in the eastern city of Van, onThursday, March 29. Turkish Culture &Tourism Minister Atilla Koc, ArmenianDeputy Minister of Culture Gagik Gyurjan,Mufti of Van province Osman Artanand the Patriarch of Turkish ArmeniansMesrob II, were among the stateofficials and foreign guests who participatedthe inauguration ceremony.Director General of Cultural Propertiesand Museums Orhan Duzgun informedthe participants about the restorationworks carried out in the 10th centuryArmenian church - now a monumentalmuseum. Mesrob II who delivered aspeech at the opening ceremony, saidthe church building is a very powerfulsymbol of a culture that has contributedthe Anatolian history for 3 thousandyears. Mesrob II stated that this eventis considered to be a very positive developmentin Turkish - Armenian relations.In his speech, Mesrob II suggestedholding annual religious ceremonies inAkdamar, in order to create a dialogueenvironment between two societies.Turkish minister Atilla Koc opened andtoured the museum. Koc answered questionsregarding Mesrob II’s offer aboutholding religious ceremonies in theAkdamar Church Monumental Museumsaying he would communicate thepatriarch’s offer to related parties. Headded that his mission, as the Culture& Tourism Minister, is to restore andprepare such constructs and continued“it is the Ministry of Interior Affairs whowill make such a decision.”On the otherhand Armenian deputy minister Gyurjansaid the restoration works are verywell done. He noted that it would bebetter for the tourism if the border gatesbetween two countries were open. The10th century Armenian Church is locatedon the small island of Akdamar 3kilometers off coast in Lake Van. Builtduring the years 915-921 and commissionedby King Gagik I of VaspurakanKingdom, the construct has an interiormeasuring 14.80m by 11.5m and thedome reaching 20.40m above ground.The building underwent a restoration bythe Turkish Government between May2005 and October 2006. The restorationworks costed 2.6 million YTL.According to the Antalya Cultureand Tourism Provincial Directorate,522,886 tourists visited Antalya in thefirst quarter of 2007, including 58,117Turkish citizens who reside abroad.Among foreign tourists to Antalya, Germansvisited it the most in the first threemonths of this year, followed by Israelisand Russians.There has also been anincrease in German tourists visiting Antalya,with numbers showing 273,916Germans from January to March, a 6.4percent increase over the same periodlast year. However the percentage ofGermans visiting Antalya compared toother nationalities is declining. While66.4 percent of the foreign tourists visitingAntalya in 2004 were German, itdropped to 64.1 percent in 2005 and59.9 percent in 2006. The first threemonths of this year Germans made upa significantly smaller 58.9 percent ofthe total. Of tourists coming to Antalyabetween January and March, Israeliswere in second place with 37,122tourists, 35.9 percent higher than thesame period last year. While Russiansare usually the second-most frequentvisitors to Antalya, for the first threemonths of 2007 there was a slight decline,putting them just behind the Israelis.Russians generally take their yearlyvacations during the summer. And despitetheir national preoccupation witha possible Turkish entry into the EU,there were 36.2 more French touristsin Antalya in the first quarter of 2007than the same period last year. Visitorsfrom other countries were also on therise: The total number of Belgians thisyear is 15,402, a notable increasefrom previous years. Other nations showingan increase in their interest in Antalyawere Ukraine, Sweden, Norway,Finland, Slovenia, the Czech Republicand Lithuania. The number of Turkishtourists visiting Antalya in the first threemonths of 2007 declined to 58,171.Tourists to Turkey are not just drawn tothe holiday hot spot of Antalya. Figuresfrom March 2007 show that there wasa 19.3 percent increase in tourist numbersin general to Turkey compared tolast year.The German newspaper Die Welt publishedan article on Istanbul March 10and praised its night life. Aside fromhistorical and touristic attractions, Istanbulis an important city that providesexciting night life, said Die Welt. “Istanbulis a city often visited for its palaces,mosques and museums. However, it isa city that could be labelled as a cityof parties, concerts and fashion.” Meanwhile,Turkish tourism authorities inBerlin kicked off a publicity campaignwhereby public buses in Berlin and insome other German cities are carryingcolorful ads of Turkey .Turkey organized “ Turkey - From YesterdayTill Today” musical show duringITB-Berlin. Around 1,500 travel professionalswatched the show held at Berlin’shistorical Schiller Theater.120 artistscomposed of mostly Turks who live inBerlin performed songs from all genresof music including Turkish Folk Music,Turkish Art Music, Classical Music, janissarymusic and rock music. A performanceis presented guests showing thegrowth of pop, rock, jazz, opera, andclassic ballet in Turkey . Guests enjoyedthis magnificent night bringing dancesand music from all regions of Turkeyas well as samples from rock includingsongs of Aretha Franklin. After the glamorousmusic show, tourism professionalsenjoyed samples from Turkish Kitchenand beverages and danced untilmidnight.Ministry of Tourism & Culture launcheda new round of publicity campaignabout Turkey with a series of promotionactivities in Germany, a ministry officialhas said. The monthly Vogue magazinefeatured an article on Turkey includinga 4-page section on the natural riches ofancient Cappadocia. Fürsie magazinepublished a 68-page extra on differentaspects of Turkish culture, art, cuisineand fashion including interviews withdirector Fatih Akin and a number of majorTurkish designers. Also in Berlin, thefaçade of a building was clad with agiant Turkey poster which would remainin place until May.